Abstract

Three-dimensional seismic data and visualization are the key elements of a rapid technological evolution in the remote sensing of the subsurface that has resulted in geoscientists moving from being data poor to data rich. The proliferation in subsurface data has profoundly affected the oil exploration and production industry in the last two decades. Most notably it has radically improved our ability to predict what lies beneath the Earth’s surface and, hence, reduce risk in exploration and production.

One-dimensional data (wells) were supplemented by 2D data (seismic sections and maps) in the 1950s and by 3D seismic data from the 1970s onwards. However, the evolution up to this point essentially dealt with a static Earth without the fourth dimension – time. More recently came the advent of recording changes in the subsurface due to hydrocarbon extraction over time, with the use of time-lapse 4D surveying.

There are also now more refined imaging techniques such as multi-component (4C) and single sensor recording. The resulting explosion of information has led to challenging questions as to how geoscientists can interact with the data to collaborate and communicate more effectively in this new data-rich world.

The breadth of influence of 3D seismic data and visualization in earth sciences is likely to be far wider than the oil and gas industry. Collaborative Visualization Environments (CVEs) are already being used in universities and 3D seismic data are also being used as a research tool in many unrelated earth science disciplines. The next step will be the establishment of CVEs at schools and colleges for teaching the next generation of earth scientists.